Originally published on February 17, 2014
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An Ethiopian Airlines flight heading to Rome was forced to land in Geneva early Monday morning after being hijacked by its co-pilot.
The Boeing 767-300 took off from Addis Ababa at 12:30 a.m. It was carrying around 193 passengers, including 140 Italian nationals. When the aircraft was flying over northern Italy, the co-pilot, a 31-year-old Ethiopian, locked himself in the cockpit while the captain went to use the washroom.
The co-pilot punched the code 7500 on the transponder, telling the air traffic control tower of the Geneva Airport that he had hijacked the plane. "We need asylum or assurance we will not be transferred to the Ethiopian government," said a man identified as the hijacker in a recording that circulated on Twitter. The recording's authenticity is yet to be verified.
The aircraft circled in Swiss airspace before landing at Geneva Airport at around 6 a.m. Two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets were dispatched from Italy to escort the hijacked aircraft to the airport.
The unarmed hijacker surrendered to Swiss authorities after exiting the aircraft through a cockpit window using a rope. The Boeing 767-300 had merely 20 minutes of fuel left when it landed.
The co-pilot could be charged with hostage-taking and face up to 20 years in jail. All passengers were safe and received medical and mental care after disembarking from the plane before 8:00 a.m. The Geneva Airport was closed temporarily, causing the cancellation of some short-haul flights. Some incoming flights were diverted to other airports.
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